


As Autumn Fades In

by petrichor143



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Gay Male Character, Intense, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, No Sex, No Smut, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Gestures, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petrichor143/pseuds/petrichor143
Summary: London was no longer a safe, enjoyable place for George. His ex girlfriend decided she wanted to be a stalker and destroy the warmth that once filled his soul. He didn’t want to be anywhere near her. Countries apart would do.Here’s how he ended up in Florida.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 62





	1. New Beginnings

Not a day has gone by where George didn’t see her pretty, pink lips or her soft grey eyes. She was the definition of beauty, in every way the media cares about. Only someone who knows her could see how abusive, manipulative, and insanely creepy she became shortly after George asked her to be his girlfriend.

They dated for a couple months. He had broken up with her as soon as realized where the relationship was going, but she didn’t seem to understand what that meant.

She showed up at his apartment nearly every single day. If not there, his favourite coffee shop, his work, or even the most random of locations in which he hung out with his friends. If she couldn’t find him, she called and called until he answered. He blocked her number. She resorted to pay phones. He changed his number. The calls stopped. The social media harassment began. Comments, direct messages, Snapchat’s on multiple accounts. Blocked. All of them.

The lull of silence lasted for only 2 days.

“How the fuck did you get this number?” George was fed up. He’d been weighing his options, and he’d made a decision. Now or never.

_“Your friends are annoying, Georgie. The tall one- William or whatever, just would not give me your number. Can you hear him pounding on the door? I have his phone, haha.”_

George could hear his friend Wilburs voice, cussing her out.

“Lillian, you’re the most fucked up person I have ever met. If I see or hear from you even one more time, or if you harass anyone I know, I’m taking this to a courtroom.”

_“I have a right to see my boyfriend, Georgie.”_

“I AM NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!”

 _“What?”_ She rasped. _“B-but, Georgie-“_

“Stop calling me that.” George shuffled his feet, sweating buckets. He’d never been so blunt and ruthless before, nor angry. He felt a wave of heat bloom on his face.

 _“Nobody ever wanted me before you, Georgie... I-I guess if you don’t... want me... I’ll just...”_ she paused. With a manipulative twinge to her weakly voice, she crackled out, _“die.”_

“W-what-?”

_“I’ll die. Kill myself. And it’s all because of you, George!” She hung up._

__

The phone slipped through his fingers. Die? All of a sudden?

__

An invisible force on his chest disallowed him to breathe deeply.

__

Not long after he had spaced out, his phone buzzed from its face down position on the wooden floor. It startled him. He hesitated on looking at it, but did so anyway. Wilbur had texted him, ‘she just stormed out with the scariest face I’ve ever fucking seen, what happened? What did she say?’

__

George stared at the white letters. They didn’t look real. ‘What’ didn’t look like a real word anymore.

__

‘She’s going to kill herself.’

__

Such simple words. Such heavy implications.

__

‘You believe her? She’s manipulating you, George. I swear it.’

__

‘Can I risk it?’

__

‘Yes, you can. Fuck. Can I come over?’

__

George noticed his reflection in his floor to ceiling window. It had gotten dark.

__

‘Yes.’

__

He set his phone on the kitchen counter. His palms pressed against the edge of the marble painfully and his arms trembled by the unusual weight. A thick smoke, a fog, or a cloud. Whichever one it happened to be, it filled his brain. Coherency no longer existed.

__

Quick little raps on the door grabbed his attention. _Lillian?_ He thought. _No, Wilbur. Wilbur._ So soon? How long had it been?

__

Before he could force his feet to move, the door opened. Did he not lock it?

__

Wilburs features, wrapped in concern, morphed into shock as the two locked eyes. What did he see? Only George’s head had moved from his hunched over position on the counter.

__

“She’s going to kill herself, Wilbur.”

__

“She’s not.”

__

“How are you so sure?” Georges head fell sullenly between his shoulders.

__

“I’m- I don’t know.”

__

A curt laugh drained of humour ripped past his lips. He couldn’t place where it came from.

__

“I need to get out of here, Wilbur.”

__

A hand grasped his shoulder, “and go where?”

__

“I don’t know yet. But I can’t stay here. Not in London. Not in the UK. Hell, even the entirety of Europe is too close for me.” Sour smelling air cursed his lungs. The dishes had to be done.

__

Suddenly he was sitting on the couch. How did he get there? When did his feet move? _Did his feet move?_

__

“Are you sure? That’s a big decision to make all of a sudden.” Wilbur had a pretty voice.

__

“I’m sure.”

__

“Um, alright. What about Florida? I have a close friend who lives there. You could live with him for awhile?”

__

Florida. Hot.

__

“If he’s fine with it.”

__

“Let me call him, then.” He hesitated. “But George, are you absolutely certain that you want this? Your friends’ll still be here in London.”

__

The fog had cleared just enough to think semi-rationally. George frowned.

__

“I understand that.” He said. “I’ll sleep on it if you want me to but I don’t think I’ve ever been so sure of something in my entire life.”

__

George focused on his friend. He seemed overwhelmed. Stressed. George understood why, but that didn’t matter right then. He needed out. Wilbur would be fine.

__

“I’ll still call my friend. But I’m specifically telling him that you aren’t completely sure yet.” He travelled back over to the little kitchen area, phone in hand.

__

George didn’t watch him make the call, only listened. The wooded floor, stained a dark brown, was a beautiful place to look at in his turmoil. He listened to Wilburs voice. His greeting held a minor, anxious tremor. Apparently the friends name was ‘Nick’ but he also called him ‘Sapnap’. A nickname, maybe?

__

“Yes, but he’s not completely sure yet about going anywhere, or where he’d even go.” A pause. George heard the faintly vibrating speaker. “Okay, thanks Sap.” Another short pause.

__

Wilbur came and sat down next to him again. “He wants to talk to you for a second.”

__

George took the phone and held it up to his ear. “Hello?”

__

_“You’re George? Hey.”_ His voice was pleasant but the American accent was painstakingly obvious in comparison to Georges London one.

__

“Hello. Why did you want to talk to me?”

__

_“Well, I’m not letting a complete stranger live in my house. You’re Wilburs friend, so I trust you’re a good person, but I’d still like to know you a little bit, y’know?”_

__

“Yeah, I understand.” George picked at the loose threads of the couch.

__

_“So, um, what’s your favourite colour, George?”_

__

“Blue.”

__

Wilbur seemingly realized that this may take awhile and took a trip to the bathroom. Literally. Like, he tripped over his feet. But he caught himself before tipping over completely. George wondered if it was because he was tall, clumsy, or both tall and clumsy.

__

_“Really? Me too. It’s such a calm colour. My bedroom is painted dark blue. Cool colours in general are great. Warm ones just remind me of the hot weather.”_

__

George listened politely. “I’m colourblind.”

__

He tapped his fingers on his thigh.

__

_“Oh. Why do you like blue, then?”_

__

“Cause I can see it.”

__

_“Ah. That’s fair.”_ A rustling sound came from the other line. _“Right, I was gonna ask why you wanted to come here. Wilbur said you should tell me what you want me to know.”_

__

George glanced at the closed bathroom door.

__

“Stalker-ish ex. Just for a little while, I need to get away from her.”

__

_“Ohhh. Alright, I understand. If you do decide to leave London, you’re welcome here in Florida.”_

__

A smile grew on his face. Gratefully, he said, “thank you, Nick.”

__

_“Just call me SapNap, bud-e.”_

__

“Okay, SapNap. Goodbye.” George hung up.

__

Wilbur came back from the bathroom, so George gave him his phone back. They sat together on the couch, talking. George didn’t have any hesitation when he said that leaving was the best option. Maybe if he disappeared from her life, she’d finally get over him and go stalk someone else. George should feel bad for thinking that, but he didn’t. He just didn’t want her to be his problem anymore.

__

“You promised me you’d sleep on it.”

__

“I don’t think I promised, but yeah, I will. It’s not like I can leave today, anyway.” His reflection stared back at him in the window. Hollow eyes. Furrowed brows. He pushed his finger on the skin between his eyebrows, effectively smoothing the lines.

__

“Alright. Okay. Cool.” Wilbur stood up abruptly. “I think I’m gonna head home. Give you the space to think it over. Goodnight, George.”

__

“Goodnight.”

__

__

———

__

__

George did indeed sleep on it. He slept on it so hard he dreamt about it.

__

The sun pierced through the veil of his old white lace curtains, stripping him of his sour slumber. A crick in his neck and red indents on his cheek, he awoke into a dark mood. As per usual.

__

He still wanted to leave. Now not just because of her, but because he needed a change in atmosphere. He hated his curtains that kept nothing out. He hated his tiny room with no space for a desk. He hated the yellowish colour of his walls. He even hated the beautiful view from his window. All of it. Old, dull, boring, outdated, uninteresting. A change in scenery would do him well.

__

He shot a text to Wilbur, saying he was, without a doubt, leaving the UK. Then it was settled.

__

George was going to America.

__


	2. Brighter Days

The delicious scent of rich hot chocolate wafted through the cafe, right into the noses of George and his friends. Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo. The latter two were younger, but somehow they formed a connection with the older ones. Together, they were like siblings. George couldn’t imagine having to say goodbye to them. But he couldn’t leave without doing so.

“Only two days left.” He muttered.

“Do you really have to go, George?” Tubbo whined, palms face down on the wood table.

He nodded, “but not forever, Toby.”

“You haven’t even told us how long you’re gonna be gone!”

“Tommy.” Wilbur warned.

“What?”

George sipped his peppermint drink, savouring the taste he wouldn’t be able to enjoy much longer. He felt the warmth radiating from Tubbo’s arm beside him. Felt the gentle breeze that caressed his hair as the door opened every few minutes. Felt the ache of his pinky toes in the slightly-too-small sneakers his grandmother got him for Christmas not long before her passing. All of it felt unreal. Dream-like. If he were to miss anything about London, it’d be this.

“This is a good thing,” George started, “I’ll finally be rid of Lillian and I’ll experience more than anything I could ever experience here. I hate this place. It’s filled with shit memories. Yeah, there are good ones with you guys and my family but... she kinda ruined it for me.”

Silence filled the table. The air sat heavily on their heads and chests.

“We understand,” said Wilbur.

“I don’t wanna have to say goodbye.” Tubbo turned towards George. His big sad eyes engraved themselves in Georges heart. He couldn’t help but bring him into a big secure hug.

He hid his face behind Tubbos head before saying, “you guys act like I’m dying.”

“But what if you don’t want to come back, George? What then? You might as well have died, then.” Wilbur blurted out. George knew he couldn’t keep it together as much as he wished he could.

“We live in a time where I could contact you from across the world in seconds.” He broke the hug. “Do you think I’m just going to break all contact? I’m not. I love you idiots but you’re being irrational.”

Tommy kept his drinks straw tucked between his lips, but none of his drink was in there.

Tubbo not so subtly lowered his head, allowing his bangs to hide his eyes.

Wilbur just barely let the pain show on his features and in his body language. The overwhelming nature of the sudden huge decision had settled, but the dust had yet to be wiped away for good. George knew, and he felt awful. But it had to be done. He couldn’t turn back. The plane ticket was booked, his bags were packed, and the guest room at SapNaps house had already been cleaned out just for George. Besides, he had to get away from Lillian. That’s the main reason for this, remember.

“You’re gonna make me have to babysit these two alone.” Wilbur tried for some light humour. Albeit dry, it was a good attempt.

“I take personal offence to that.” Said Tommy, but he didn’t sound as offended as his words suggested.

Half-hearted laughs paraded about in the air.

“Oh no. The reason for this sad as fuck conversation is here.” Tommy muttered, watching the front windows. Everyone turned to look.

Lillian, beautiful as ever, looked in through the window, obviously looking for George. Or at least his friends.

Wilbur mouthed to George, ‘not dead’.

It’d been a week since that unsettling phone call. In that week, not a single person in their group had seen or heard from her. George almost thought she actually went through with it. He realized he wouldn’t feel as bad about it as his initial reaction made him think he would. Though, he did feel bad for thinking that. She was still human, and a pinch of empathy for her sat buried deep within him. It passed the instant he saw her face.

“Fucking hell.” He muttered under his breath.

She made eye contact with him. Instantly, she made her way in and over to their half booth by the wall. Her face gave away nothing of what she was feeling, if she felt anything at all.

“George,” She started.

“What. What do you want, Lillian?”

She quirked a brow. “Rude. I want this table.”

Everyone stared at her. The fuck?

“Get up. My friends and my _new boyfriend_ ,” she emphasized, “are gonna be here in a few minutes.”

“Your new boyfriend?” George laughed curtly.

“Is an asshole.” Wilbur muttered. His reference went unnoticed.

“Yes, George, my new boyfriend. He’s tall, strong, and doesn’t neglect me like you did. I love him.” She crossed her arms, so smugly.

George was suddenly amused. “I don’t care. Actually, I’m happy for you. But I feel sorry for the guy. You’ve been together, what, less than a week?”

“A month, actually.”

“Ah, so you were cheating on me too. Yet another reason to hate you.”

Her cheeks flamed red. “Whatever. Give me the table.”

He made eye contact with all his friends. It was his call. He nodded, and stood up with his friends following suit.

“Your desperation to make me jealous is laughable.” He made perfect eye contact with her. “I’ll be so much happier when I don’t have to see your face anymore.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. Before she could ask what that meant, George lead his pack outside. The summer breeze blew past and took his negative emotions away with it. He felt light. Airy.

Before he could stop it, a genuine little laugh rushed out.

“The look on her face was beautiful. Won’t she be surprised when she can’t find me anywhere,” he said. “I’m sorry I’m leaving you guys to deal with her.”

They walked along the city street together, toward the ocean. Many others walked with or against them, and politely avoided the group.

“She’ll have to give up eventually.” Tubbo optimistically chimed in, but the undertone was less than optimistic. They’d met Lillian on multiple occasions. They knew. She wasn’t one for changing her mind.

Tommy suddenly choked on his drink.

“Tubbo- Tubbo, it’s almost 6.”

“Oh no, we forgot about curfew.” Tubbo didn’t seem all that concerned.

Tommy stared at him incredulously. “Tubbo, my mother will kill me if we’re late. We- we,” he laughed anxiously, “we’ll have to run.”

“Oh no.”

“Well, bye guys! Tell us when you’re at the airport, Gogy!” The both of them ran off. A few seconds in, they had already migrated down to speed walking.

George looked at Wilbur. His hair covered more of his face than usual.

“This is a good thing, Wilbur.”

“I know.”

———

Arriving at the airport made it all feel so much more real. It was barely dawn, still dark enough to be called nighttime. 5 AM was not a nice time for a flight.

Tommy and Tubbo couldn’t be there because their parents thought the time was ridiculous, but their voices were there, in a call. They didn’t stay long. After goodbye, there was nothing much more to say.

“I’m gonna miss you so much, George.” Wilbur murmured.

George hugged him. He knew it wouldn’t be the end. This was just a _goodbye, for now._

“I’ll miss you too, but I’ll come back. Don’t worry. It’s not a goodbye forever.”

“Yeah.”

After they separated, George dragged his luggage over to security as Wilbur watched. George had no idea of the tears in his friends eyes. Wilbur simply waved at him before he disappeared through the door ahead of him.

Life was changing, for better and for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 :) I’m feeling really good about this story.


	3. New Friend

The plane was not at all as Geroge had expected it to be. It was quiet apart from the expected small chatters. Were planes not always loud, or filled with crying children? Maybe because of how early it was.

 _It’s kind of stuffy in here,_ he thought. _Maybe I should open the window._

_His hand touched the glass of his window seat, and pushed it out. Suddenly, he was outside, sucked out by the pressure, in the thin air with nothing below him but a green ocean._

_His skin and lungs burned from the whipping air. Just before he hit the water, he-_

-gasped. And woke up.

The gentle atmosphere must have lulled him to sleep but his subconscious obviously hated that idea. He peered up at the rounded ceiling, trying to catch his breath. He found himself quite happy that no one sat beside him.

George pulled his white earbuds from his sweater pocket and plugged them into his phone. With a soft melody calming his mind, he could sleep again without nightmares.

———

“We’ve arrived at our destination.”

George, along with the other passengers, rushed to get out. His legs were itching for some movement. The world seemed a little blurry, with how fast he got off the plane and collected his baggage. He removed his sweater, preparing himself for the incoming heat.

Georges heart picked a faster beat to dance to as he realized- he didn’t know what SapNap looked like. He was supposed to pick him up from the airport. Anxiously, he created a little plan. He would walk out of the terminal and rush off to the side, then send a text to SapNap. But he didn’t have to follow through with it.

He saw his name, scrawled neatly on a white sign.

SapNap didn’t know what George looked like, either.

He walked toward the sign holder, a generally attractive man, prepared to run if he was wrong. “A-are you SapNap?” He stuttered.

The sweet smile told him he was correct. No running away today.

“George!” It did sound like the voice he heard on the phone.

Suddenly, he was being hugged by this near stranger. It ended before he could even react.

“Hey. Wowwie, you’re more attractive than I thought you’d be. I am SapNap, yes. Nice to formally meet you.” Said man extended his arm for a firm handshake. It seemed kind of pointless after the hug, but George was too polite to decline. SapNap had a firm grip, and warm fingers.

“Nice to formally meet you, too.”

After swiftly exiting the airport with his luggage in tow, George got his first real taste of the Floridan heat. He was shocked when he had trouble breathing it in. The sun had never been so bright or intense before. It was only 9 in the morning. He knew right then that he would be dead when afternoon hit.

“You okay, dude?”

George backtracked to stand under the awning. “It’s so hot.”

“It’s only like, 80.”

“What does that mean?”

SapNap laughed. He pulled out his phone and started typing. “27 degrees Celsius. Rounded up.”

“Oh my god. I’m going to die.”

“You probably are. If we hurry to my car, we can get the air conditioning going.”

They did just that. With cold air blasting in his face, George got a chance to observe the unfamiliar world around him. The thing he noticed first were the palm trees. He always thought of those as a Hollywood symbol. It never occurred to him that others thought of palm trees like he did with rain or something. Normal things that constantly existed but no one gave much thought to.

“So George,” SapNap began, a few minutes into their drive, “how was the plane?”

“Fine. No children were on so it was quiet. Although I did have a nightmare that I got sucked out the window.”

“Was it your first time on one?”

“No. My parents took me to Italy when I was too young to remember. But I guess it feels like my first one.” George smiled weakly. He was very grateful that SapNap wasn’t bringing up his situation, nor his friends. He liked him, thus far.

“Nice.”

They somehow fell into a comfortable silence after the dry conversation. SapNaps car smelled faintly of an earthy cologne. It was quite a calming scent. Nothing too brash. Although he didn’t remember smelling it on SapNap before, when he hugged him. Maybe he was too anxiety ridden to notice. It didn’t matter all that much.

They’d arrived at the house.

George didn’t want to get out of the car. He didn’t like the heat. It was so hot he could see those wavy things on the road that you’d see in movies when someone had a heat stroke in the desert and started hallucinating. It was the only thing he could compare it to. London didn’t have those.

“The air conditioning in the house is even colder than this one. I can crank it down real low.”

That did it.

The temperature inside _was_ colder, and just beautiful. Both him and SapNap worked together on lugging his baggage inside and into his new room. It was quite simple; grey walls, dark wood floor like his previous place, a dresser and night table that matched the floor, a bland lamp, and a perfectly simple double bed with white sheets. No knickknacks or wall art or anything. Either SapNap was very minimalist, or he just didn’t know what to put in there.

“I’m sorry it’s so bare. I’m not all that great at interior design. And I don’t know what you like.” So it was the second option.

“That’s fine. Could I decorate it myself?”

“Please do.”

SapNap left him to his space.

His tailbone was achy from all the sitting he’d been doing. He stretched out a bit and got to work on unpacking. Only his jumpers had been tucked away before he remembered to check his phone.

A few texts had spilled into their group chat of 4. Mostly just them asking George if he’d gotten there safely or how he liked SapNap. He responded positively to both questions.

An hour passed, and George had finally put away all his clothes and arranged them in a way that felt right. He attempted to arrange them by colour. He was most likely wrong in multiple places but it gave him something to do. He could ask SapNap how wrong he was later.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, SapNap knocked on the door.

“Come in.” He said, lounging on his bed.

The door creaked open. In came the devil, holding a nice pair of black sunglasses. “I got you a present. I know it won’t help all that much for the heat, but... I can’t really change the weather. It’d be super cool if I could, though.”

George sat up and took the glasses, placing them on his face.

“How do I look?”

“Beautiful.”

“What?”

“I said you look beautiful.” He didn’t seem to think it was anything weird.

“Is it an American thing to call men beautiful?”

“What? No, it’s a SapNap thing. Anyone can be beautiful, and I mean it platonically. In a friendly way.” SapNap kindly explained.

“Oh. Well, thank you. For the compliment and the gift.” He pulled the glasses off and set them closed on his nightstand. He then glanced at his open, empty suitcases. Where would they hide away? This room didn’t have a closet.

“Wow, you already unpacked. That was fast.”

“Yeah. That reminds me, I tried to organize my clothes by colour, but if you remember our first chat, I’m-“

“Colourblind. I remember.”

George stared at him, a little shocked. “Well, yeah. Could you tell me how well I did?”

SapNap laughed. “Of course, George.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m about ready for Dream to show up, wbu?


	4. Sexuality Check

After SapNap corrected George’s colour-coded clothing organization (which George got very wrong), he remembered that he hadn’t even given George a tour of the house. He just brought him to his room.

“Tour time!” SapNap yelled, dragging George along with him.

The two story house was quite large for someone who had been living alone. 3 bedrooms, one being used as an office, 3 bathrooms, two of which contained showers (George got his own bathroom), a large kitchen with an island and bar stools, a cozy living room and a dining room. There was also a good sized pool in the backyard. George learned that most people in the American south had pools. Too bad he didn’t own a bathing suit.

“So how do you like it here so far, George?” SapNap started. He filled a glass of water and set it on the counter for George. The latter sat on a barstool and sipped it, cringing as it tasted weird. He set it down. Something else to get used to.

“The house is nice, and you’re nice. But the weather is not very nice.”

“Well, yeah. While you were ‘organizing’ your clothes,” he added air quotes, “I checked the average weather consensus of London, out of curiosity. I understand why you hate the heat so much. London is cold af.”

George nodded absentmindedly.

“Oh, by the way, my best friend Dream is coming over soon. I thought you’d like to know more than one person here.”

He nodded again.

SapNap clapped his hands. “Alright. I’m gonna go take a shower. You can help yourself to any food you may find in here.” He gestured to the entirety of the kitchen.

Another nod. SapNap went upstairs, and not long after, George heard the faint white noise of the running water. He let out a sigh.

He stood up, took soft steps toward the glass door leading to the backyard, and watched how the breeze captured the leaves of the palms and swayed them in a loving dance. It was oddly comforting to watch them sway so happily and glow so brightly in the sun. The vibrancy of everything, from the trees to the sky to the blue of the pool, was such a big change. It was nice. He needed it. He definitely wasn’t used to it, but he thought of a future where he could be.

Quick little raps on the front door caught his attention and rattled his heart.

_Should I answer it? Am I allowed to do that?_

“SapNap! Let me in!” More knocks on the door, more sporadic.

 _Oh, it must be the friend._ He quickly hurried over to the door and inched it open, partially hiding behind it. Anxiety things.

“What took you so- oh. You’re not SapNap.”

George shook his head. He had to look up just to make polite and uncomfortable eye contact with this absolute mountain of a man. He was ungodly tall, but wow, his appearance was the exact opposite of ungodly.

“You must be George, then. I’m Clay. My friends call me Dream.” Another extremely obvious American accent.

They shook hands. No hug from him, like SapNap had done, and it was perfectly fine with George.

“Nice to meet you, Clay.”

“Dream. We’re friends now.”

“Right. I guess you should come in.” George shuffled backwards, pulling the door with him. Dream walked in with a plastic grocery bag in his left hand and instantly disappeared behind the wall leading to the kitchen. George could hear the crinkling of the bag being set on the counter and tampered with. He closed the front door, but remained there with his hand on the cool metal handle.

He looked up the stairs to his left, praying for SapNap to get the fuck out of the shower and come help him interact with this human.

“Where’s SapNap?” Dream popped his head out. _Good timing._

“Shower.”

“That man takes ridiculously long showers.” He smiled. “Come here, I brought some snacks for you. Specifically you. Not SapNap.” He left sight again.

George hesitated but he ended up right back at his spot from a few minutes ago, on the bar stool. Dream sat beside him.

“Alright. I have not even the slightest idea what you like so I grabbed the stuff I liked and just hoped we had similar taste.” A few candy packets were shoved in front of him. “Oh, shit, I forgot the milkshakes in the car. Be right back.”

George watched him run off. “Milkshakes?” He muttered to himself as he gingerly ripped open a pack of tropical flavoured skittles. They tasted sweet and extremely unhealthy.

Dream came back with three styrofoam cups in a cardboard cup holder and sat back down in his seat beside George.

“Like I said, I got you what I like. So this is orange flavour.” One of the cups was set in front of him. He felt so awkward being given this much stuff by people he barely knew. Is this what it felt like to be royalty? _King George_ , he joked to himself.

He sucked on the straw, tasting the citrusy sweetness on his tongue.

“We do seem to have similar tastes.” He mentioned between sips.

“Really? Awesome. I’ll remember that.”

George felt himself smiling.

Dreams eyes were on him. George didn’t look away from the counter but he could feel the eyes and see the white teeth of a smile out of the corner of his vision. A fuzzy feeling riled up in his stomach.

He opened his mouth to speak, when SapNap walked in.

“Oh. Who let the dog in?” He said rudely. He grabbed the only untouched milkshake and started drinking it with his elbows resting on the island across from Dream and George.

George felt uncomfortably warm after that comment. Was he not supposed to let him in?

“George let me in,” Dream answered seriously. He followed it up with, “this dog needs a new owner. You didn’t let me in.”

“I was in the shower, Dream bean.”

“You knew I was coming over.”

“Yup.” He popped the P.

Dream narrowed his eyes playfully. “I’ll disown you.”

George felt paralyzed watching these two interact. Dream genuinely looked a little mad but his tone was soft. He didn’t know what to do. So he popped some tropical skittles in his mouth.

“Not if I disown you first, bitch.” He stole one of George’s skittles and seemed to realize he was there. “What do you think of this muffin head, George?”

He wasn’t expecting a question. “Oh, um, well, he- he brought me candy. I can’t really complain.” Plus he was really nice and super attractive.

“Hear that, Dream? Maybe George should be your owner instead.”

“W-What?” George sputtered in surprise. At this point, he couldn’t tell if these guys were being serious or if they just had a really weird sense of humour.

“Nice going, SapNap, you made him uncomfortable.” Dream threw a pink skittle at him. It made a little _tick_ sound as it hit the floor.

“Oh. Sorry, George. We get really deep into our inside jokes, sometimes.”

He nodded. It would definitely take some getting used to.

———

Afternoon passed without George having to go out in the extreme heat. He silently expressed his gratitude towards the air conditioning and his new friends for not forcing him to follow them outside into the pool. They were still out there as the sun was ready to settle in below the horizon, and George’s stomach told him it was dinner time. He hadn’t had anything other than some candy since the plane and it was already 7.

A little ball formed in his throat every time he tried to go out and ask when dinner would be, and what it would be. Would they make it, order it? He wanted to know it all but gravity and the weight of his anxiety kept him seated. He played with his fingers, watching them lounge outside.

Maybe it was a little cooler outside, since the sun was pretty much gone.

He thought it over for a short while. He could just go outside, sit with them, and hope they mentioned food. Or hope that his stomach would growl at the right time.

He’d made his decision.

He heaved himself up off couch and trudged over to the glass sliding door. He slid it open a little and sighed at the instant torture. So hot. But he would have to just make do. Get over it.

It slid open the rest of the way and he stepped out. Ugh. He already felt sticky and it smelled like chlorine.

“George!” “Georgie! You came out.”

Georgie. That reminded him of the phone call. He shook away the nasty thought. He’d have to ask SapNap to not call him that again.

“I thought it would be cooler. I was so wrong.”

“Might as well stay, now that you’re here, you vampire. Come, sit.” Dream patted the spot next to him where he sat on the edge of the pool with his feet dangling. George glanced at his bare chest for a moment. He must’ve been big on swimming cause goddamn those muscles.

George sat beside him and awkwardly placed his bare feet in the warm water. The tile under his legs was hard and dug into the backs of his thighs. He’d have ugly lines indented on him no matter how short a time he sat there.

He gazed at SapNap chilling on a unicorn pool floaty, slowly gliding across the top of the pool, gently bouncing against the sides and floating off in a different direction. Watching him was quite relaxing. He suppressed a yawn.

It was the perfect time for George’s stomach to do the thingy he had hoped for.

“You sound hungry.” Dream giggled. _Giggled_. It was so cute.

“Just a little.”

Good lie, George.

“Is pizza okay? I can go order us some.” He stood up, water dripping off his lower legs and onto the tan tiles. He watched it run down.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I only like pepperoni, though.”

“Not a problem. I’ll go ord-“

SapNap raised his hand and interrupted, “I want a meat lovers.”

“Course you do.” He gave George a light shoulder pat. “I’ll go order.”

George watched him dry off his feet with a dirty towel that had been laying on the ground by the door, and slipped into the house. He couldn’t see though the faint glare until Dream turned the kitchen light on. He continued to watch as he made the call, pacing around the island.

“So, what do you _really_ think of Dream? He’s hot, right?” SapNap paddled over to him and haphazardly shifted onto his stomach to talk easier.

“What?”

“You were staring at him real hard. You obviously think he’s quite the looker, but I wanna hear it from you so spill.”

How the hell did he fit both outdated and modern speech into the same sentence and make it work?

“Um. He’s... attractive, I guess.” George admitted. Distracting, too. He managed to forget about her for awhile. There were 4,300 miles and an ocean between them, a perfect, absolutely necessary distance. Though his friends were there, too. He wondered how Wilbur was holding up with him gone.

“C’mon, give me more than that.” SapNap whined. “Wait, you’re straight, aren’t you? I’m sorry if I made y-“

“Not exactly.”

SapNap gasped. “The story just got interesting, folks. He likes... both genders? Or... gender doesn’t matter?”

“The first one.” George rolled his eyes with a dumb smile.

SapNap laughed gleefully and clapped his hands in joy.

“That’s awesome. So many options. I wish I had that many options. I’m completely hetero. Can’t say the same about Dream, though. Wait, I shouldn’t have said that. Pretend he’s straight unless he tells you otherwise. I said nothing.”

It was George’s turn to laugh. He promised to keep the secret.

Soon, the pizzas were on the way and Dream was back outside with them. The sexuality conversation had ended, but it was still fresh in George’s mind. Dream wasn’t straight. Yeah, he could be asexual, or aromantic, or both but... the way SapNap worded it...

He could only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Dream! :D


	5. Hot Head

George still wasn’t happy with or used to the heat a week later. On a slightly cooler day, he forced himself out into the afternoon sun. He lasted 15 minutes and nearly got sunburnt.

Today was his second attempt.

The glass door was hot where he rested his palm on it, contrasting the cold air blowing up his leg from the vent below him. SapNap lazily encouraged him from the couch.

“What’s the temperature?” George asked.

“You’re stalling.”

“Just tell me.”

A near minute passed as SapNap pulled up the temperature and converted it.

“37 degrees.” (98.6 F)

George sucked in harshly the cool air. He felt a wave of regret for choosing such a boiling hot day for his second attempt. He grimaced and slid the door open. _Good afternoon, Hell. The hellfire is just lovely today. Is that a hint of sudden death, I smell?_

“If you melt, can I make George flavoured ice cream?”

“No.”

He shut the door behind him, blocking out SapNaps complaints.

The stone patio looked hot enough to cook an egg and George didn’t have any shoes on. Broiled toes for dinner, then. He scampered across the lava lake, past the pool, to the soft greenery on the other side. He sat under the shade of a large tree, in the grass. It tickled his legs.

He looked back at the door to see the faint silhouette of SapNap through the glare on the glass. With his phone up, facing George. He instinctively hid his face.

SapNap slid the door open. His laughter echoed through the yard, “c’mon George, pose for the picture!”

He turned his body away.

“I’m sending it to Dream.”

He stuck up his middle finger.

“Perfect. Thanks, Georgie!”

“Don’t call me that!” He blurted out, shouting. Audible memories rang through his ears. It was so sudden. He didn’t mean to do that.

SapNap went quiet. Did George sound too angry? He didn’t mean to. He curled up in regret. The heat was no longer an issue for him.

His mind travelled back across the Atlantic. To London. The place where everyone he had ever loved lived. His mom, dad, cousins, friends, exes. All of them. Maybe Florida was a bad idea. But Lillian... and the scenery... it was a good idea. Or maybe he should’ve thought about it more. Wilbur... he said George should’ve thought about it longer. He should have listened. Who moves out of the country because of an annoying ex girlfriend? He was so stupid. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ He smacked himself on the head. Was Lillian even really that bad?

How could he move out of an entire country, an entire _continent _for fucks sake, because of just one person?__

__George felt a hand on his shoulder. He never liked her hands on him. He shoved it away, whipping around with a shout, “don’t touch me, Lillian!”_ _

__He only realized what came out when he made eye contact with the man, SapNap, behind him. Wide eyed, confused, noticeably hurt SapNap._ _

__“George, are you okay? Who’s Lillian? Did they hurt you? Do I need to-“_ _

__“I’m fine.”_ _

__SapNap didn’t seem convinced. He sat down in front of George, legs crisscrossed._ _

__“You can’t be, not with that reaction. Who are they?”_ _

__“She’s my toxic ex-girlfriend. She’s why I’m here, remember?” He mumbled. He wouldn’t enjoy this conversation._ _

__“Oh, right. I remember.” He shifted closer. “Why don’t you like the name Georgie?”_ _

__George’s ears buzzed. “Her. She called me that. Don’t say that name.”_ _

__“Did she do something that made you want to lash out lik-“_ _

__“I’m not answering that.”_ _

__SapNap bit his lip. “Alright.”_ _

__Weighted silence flooded their ears. The wind picked up, brushing both of their hair aside messily. The air brought over a yummy scent. George couldn’t place it exactly, but it was something edible. He sniffed the air like a rabbit, slightly tilting his head up at every sharp little inhale. As his lung capacity was met, he exhaled deeply._ _

__“I didn’t realize you had so much troubling you, George,” SapNap muttered, “I wish you would have told me sooner.”_ _

__“Yes, I was going to tell all my problems to someone I barely knew. We didn’t meet in a bar half drunk. Why would I tell you all that?” He snapped. It wasn’t all that harsh, but he still felt bad._ _

__“I don’t know. I always act like new people are my closest friends. I’ve been told I’m too eager.”_ _

__George glanced up at him. He never fixed his windswept hair. “Why?”_ _

__“I don’t know. The beginning stages of a friendship are super awkward. I guess I just... skip over them?”_ _

__“Does that not make it more awkward?”_ _

__“Not usually, if the other person is just as eager to be friends.” He shifted back to rest on his hands. “Sometimes they don’t like it, though. Like you, you don’t seem to like it.”_ _

__George blinked. He twisted his neck to look at the house._ _

__“I guess I don’t.”_ _

__George saw these personal experiences as things that should only be shared between the closest of friends. Sexual orientation, fine, but things that hurt him or completely changed him? He didn’t know if he was _that_ close to SapNap. He didn’t know if he was ready to know about the deeper, darker side of the relationship with his ex. The worst thing that could have ever happened, happened the day he broke up with her. If she was on his mind, he couldn’t be touched without permission, with only one exception. He felt safe with Wilbur. Wilbur was trustworthy, and somehow, George couldn’t not feel better when he was beside him. Wilbur was his best friend. Fuck, he missed him. He’d have to have a video chat with him later._ _

__Minutes had passed in silence. Both George and SapNap just sat there, thinking together but their thoughts must’ve been different. George came back to earth first, it seemed. He watched SapNaps eyebrows furrow and twitch as he stared blankly at the swaying grass between his feet._ _

__George sighed, leaning back and sprawling out on the ground. Little bursts of sunlight hit his eyes from between the wind blown leaves above. He closed them. The hot rays danced across his skin, leaving cool trails as they passed._ _

__“GUYS!”_ _

__They both gasped. George jumped up and grabbed his chest, twisting his body to look at the sliding door. There stood Dream, in a bright white t-shirt. The sun shining on him made him hard to look at after George’s eyes had adjusted to being shut._ _

__“What the fuck, Dream? When did you get here?” SapNap shouted, breathing heavy._ _

__George lied back down, still clutching his heart. He couldn’t speak after that shock._ _

__“Just now.” His voice was closer. “I wanted to see for myself how long George could be outside.”_ _

__George frowned, making eye contact with him. He was so high up. “How long ago did he send you the picture?”_ _

__“Maybe... 20 minutes ago?”_ _

__George nodded, quietly acknowledging his new record. “It doesn’t feel as bad anymore. Still hell, but I think I’m starting to get used to it.”_ _

__“Awesome. Does that mean we can go to the beach together soon?” Dream asked._ _

__George mulled it over. The beach would be even hotter with no tree cover, the sand would be blazing and his retinas would probably burn out. Maybe he could wear those nice sunglasses SapNap gave him. The water would cool him down, as well. Though, did he want to take his shirt off in public? No. But the other two would take theirs off. Dream would take off-_ _

__“Sure.” He answered._ _

__SapNap and Dream gave a happy shout in unison, pumping their fists into the air._ _

__“But!” He sat up, holding his pointer finger toward the sky, “I don’t have swim trunks.”_ _

__“WHAT.” “WHAT!?”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took awhile. I’m not sure why it took me so long to write. But it’s here now :) and Happy Valentines Day!


	6. Just Beachy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long :( I am going to try my best to finish this story at some point. Lots more chapters to come :)

George was dragged into a summer clothing store and shown item after item. Dream and Sapnap jumped around like children, comparing swimming trucks of all different colours. Or George assumed they were different colours, anyway. Dream held up two pairs and had asked him if he preferred the blue or the purple. They looked exactly the same. But he knew he liked blue, so without pointing at which one he meant, he said-

“Blue.”

Dream lifted his right hand, presumably with the pair that was blue. “Really? I think the purple would look nice on you.”

“You asked for my opinion and you won’t even take it?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Blue it is.” Dream placed the pair in his left hand back on the shelf.

George didn’t feel like sharing with Dream that he was colourblind. So he didn’t. He didn’t know why he wanted it secret. Maybe for personal amusement? Was it even that amusing?

“Where’d Sapnap go?” Dream asked.

George looked up, twisting his neck to search for the man.

“I’m right here.”

Dream and George gasped in unison. Sapnap appeared a few feet away from where George sat on a plush bench. He held up a pair of blocky multicoloured swim trunks, that looked like blue and grey to George. He furrowed his brows. Sapnap had a strange smile on.

“Look what I found.” He grinned even wider.

“What?” George was so confused. What was so special about blue and grey swim trunks?

“It’s the bi flag!”

George blinked.

“Sapnap. I’m colourblind.”

His face showed that he had forgotten about that.

“You’re colourblind?!” Dream shouted. An old lady glared at him bitterly but didn’t comment. Dream didn’t notice, but George did. He nearly scolded Dream for drawing attention to them. “And bisexual? You told Sap this stuff and not me?”

“I mean... yeah? He tried to talk to me about colour, which is how he found out I was colourblind and... he found out I was bi, because... cause reasons.” He caught himself before he said that it was because he was caught ogling Dream. A dull warmth filled his cheeks. He was so obvious. _Because reasons. Who the fuck even says that?_ (Author does.)

Dream nodded. He didn’t pry and George internally thanked him for it.

“Hmph. Fine.”

“So do you want the bi shorts or not?” Sapnap wiggled them in front of his face. George grabbed them out of his hand and felt the material. Same old smooth texture that all men’s swim trunks were. He nodded.

“Cool, okay. You’ve got... two pairs? Yeah. Can we go to the beach now?”

“We have to buy them first. And get our own from our houses.” Dream said. He gently took away the pair in George’s hand and walked off toward the front of the store, holding the royal blue ones in his other. George subconsciously watched his hips lightly sway as he walked further away.

“I guess he’s paying then.” Sapnap sat beside George.

“We should probably follow him.”

“Probably.”

They did not move. Or, until Dream came over and kicked their asses into gear. They laughed as they jogged away from him, eventually making it outside and hobbling into Sapnaps car. Dream had to sit in the back because of how fast the other two got out there. They both panted through their laughs, even if the physical exercise was minuscule. Dream laughed as well.

After they had calmed down, Sapnap turned on the radio. It played some chill pop music and filled the silence. It was a comforting environment for George. To not have any problems weighing him down, no heavy conversations. To just sit contently after a laugh and allow happy music to fill his ears, all while in pleasant company. It felt so good. So _right_. He couldn’t let that end.

Suddenly, there was an arm stretched out beside his head and a phone in his face. On it, there was a picture of a gorgeous little beach.

“This is the beach we’re going to, George.” He could feel Dreams breath against the shell of his ear.

Then he caught a whiff of cologne. He remembered that it was the same scent he smelled after getting into Sapnaps car for the first time. Calming, like pine and wet earth. It was weird how he just suddenly remembered it. He quite liked it. In fact, he was too busy soaking it in to answer Dreams question.

“Do you like it?” Dream hesitated.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I love it.”

He wasn’t talking about the picture.

Sapnap had stopped at Dreams house to let him grab his swim trunks, then drove back to his and Georges place to grab his own. He also rounded up some beach towels and sunscreen. An absolute necessity in Florida.

All was finally settled, and the three had made it to the beach.

The air smelled strongly of salt and hotdogs, George noticed. He saw a little snack bar across the way, tourists lined up with pockets full of change to grab a taste at the unhealthy meat. George didn’t like hotdogs but the delicious scent still affected his stomach.

“We only have, like, an hour until sunset.” Dream mentioned as they trudged through the burning sand in their sandals and flip flops.

“Are we going to be staying longer than that?” George asked.

“Of course. That’s when all the people leave and when the heat dials back.”

“Oh.”

“Do you not want to stay that long, George?”

George stumbled, and would have fallen over if Dreams arm wasn’t out to stabilize him. “It’s not that...” He glanced up at Dream. The sun made his eyes glow and showed off some delicate freckling that George hadn’t noticed before. _Wow._ He let go of Dreams arm, looking out to sea before his eyes lingered a little too long.

“I’m not the biggest fan of being outside after dark...” George mumbled.

The two had slowed to a stop as Sapnap kept walking ahead of them. He had laid out the towels on the ground and removed his shoes and shirt. They had already put on sunscreen back at Sapnaps house, so he just walked over toward the water, completely ignoring the other two. They didn’t seem to mind.

Dream smiled sweetly, resting his hand on George’s shoulder. “I’ll be here to protect you. Don’t worry.”

George grimaced at the cheesy line, but thanked him anyway.

“Let’s cool off in the water, yeah?”

“Yeah...”

Dream went over to the towels, throwing his shirt in a pile with Sapnaps. George’s eyes willingly glued themselves to his tan skin, broad back and sculpted shoulders. He felt so perfectly inferior to him.

“You coming?”

George felt his cheeks burn.

“Yeah.” He followed Dream, hesitantly removing his shirt then subconsciously crossing his arms over his chest. His pale skin glowed like paper in the sun.

Dream just smiled at him and guided him to the water.

With warm fingers grazing the small of his back, George felt about ready to fall apart into that hand.


End file.
